File:Hms warspite.jpg|HMS ''Warspite'' The ship that was everywhere and did everything.

File:Hms warspite.jpg|HMS ''Warspite'' The ship that was everywhere and did everything.

File:HMS Hood.jpg|HMS ''Hood''. The pride of the Royal Navy.

File:HMS Hood.jpg|HMS ''Hood''. The pride of the Royal Navy.

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File:HMS Prince Of Wales.jpg|HMS ''Prince of Wales''.

File:Yamato.jpg|''Yamato'', the largest Battleship ever built.

File:Yamato.jpg|''Yamato'', the largest Battleship ever built.

File:Bismarck.jpg|The Nazi Battleship, ''Bismark''

File:Bismarck.jpg|The Nazi Battleship, ''Bismark''

Revision as of 17:20, 22 March 2013

Concept art of the USS Kentucky (BB-66) as a guided missile battleship.

A battleship is a large, heavily armed and armored warship, often the largest class in a fleet. The term stems from Line of Battle, a common naval formation used by opposing fleets during the age of sail. Battleships were the backbone of the world's navies until the introduction of the aircraft carrier during the second world war.

Battleships built after 1906 are often called "dreadnoughts" due to the significance of adopting an "all big guns" design philosophy that emerged after the Russian-Japanese war. This philosophy was first demonstrated in the ship of the same name.